


Can't Sleep, Won't Sleep

by SnappleNinja



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin has his season 7 hair, Clones, Episode: s07e04 Unfinished Business, Late Night Conversations, Medical Examination, Mental Health Issues, Picturing that makes this even better lol, Post-Battle, Separation Anxiety, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepy Anakin Skywalker, calm down Anakin, more like The Sleepy One, the chosen one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:22:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24095035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnappleNinja/pseuds/SnappleNinja
Summary: Anaxes has been taken, Echo is saved and taken in by the Bad Batch, and the Outer Rim sieges continue.  Everyone is happy and relieved, except for a certain Jedi Knight who can't get any sleep for the life of him.He thinks it could be because of the stress of the war.  Then again, it could be any number of things: his secret marriage with Senator Amidala, his growing weariness, and possibly but most likely the worries he has for his former Padawan who left to take to the streets of Coruscant alone.Good thing that Kix is more than willing to pull General Skywalker along into a proper checkup.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CT-6116 | Kix & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 72





	Can't Sleep, Won't Sleep

Anakin really didn’t enjoy dreams all that much. Considering that they could sometimes be real visions in disguise, Anakin also found it hard to trust that they weren’t anything more than fragments of his imagination. Even before being brought to the Jedi Temple as a child by Qui-Gon, Anakin’s dreams back on Tatooine had always been much stranger and more whimsical than how the other slave kids described theirs.

As a youngling and later as a Padawan, the issue hadn’t lessened by any means, but had rather accelerated in frequency and amount of detail. As Anakin’s own mind and body grew and matured, so did his dreams and/or visions, which was probably only made worse with the whole “Chosen One” title that had been tagged to him since Qui-Gon initially took a test on his medichlorian count. His vision of his mother dying couldn’t have been closer to the truth, and whenever Anakin experienced dreams of another person he cared about suffering or dying, he took it very seriously. Or, at least, he tried to despite the ongoing war that he served a rather large part in.

For now, Anakin tried his best to find a relaxed position in bed and put his mind to rest. Usually, it would take more than a few minutes to accomplish. In his Padawan years, Anakin had been teased and sometimes reprimanded about this by Obi-Wan, who would always say something about how his focus would be swayed if he didn’t allow himself to get sufficient sleep.

_“_ But, _Master_ ,” a 14-year-old Anakin would whine as Obi-Wan would stand at the foot of his Padawan’s bed with his arms crossed. “I’m _not_ refusing to sleep. I just _can’t._ ”

Obi-Wan took some time, but eventually he was a lot more understanding of Anakin’s alertness and vibrancy in the Force. “Your ability to see such detailed visions in a dream is a _gift_ , Anakin,” Obi-Wan would say sometimes. “Few learners your age are able to make out much of anything from their dreams. It’s important that you see it as something of use rather than something to complain about.”

Anakin loved Obi-Wan like a brother, but that was never what he wanted to hear when he’d be lying helplessly in bed for far too many hours, trying to no avail to get some much-desired sleep.

Now, Anakin was a Jedi Knight – had been for several years now – and no longer had a room connected with Obi-Wan’s. They were now more or less equals to each other, and Anakin was by himself. He had no one to come to his bedside late at night to try to help him get any rest. In those very rare few nights when Anakin would be able to sneak off to spend the night at Padme’s apartment, it’d help a bit, but he’d find himself more worried about his wife’s own wellbeing than the amount of rest he really wasn’t _trying_ to get at that point.

Anakin wrestled with himself for a few moments and rolled onto his side, letting out an exasperated sigh of disdain. It was now that he finally decided to pull off the lightsaber that was still clipped to his belt and toss it onto the floor. He had hardly even removed his boots and gloves before plopping himself onto his plain sheets, hoping that the day’s stress would be enough to bring his body to a few hours of sleep. Needless to say, it wasn’t working.

Today had been both exciting and stressful. Anaxes was finally taken thanks to the rescue of ARC Trooper Echo, a beloved trooper thought to be killed at the Citadel until recently. Rex and Echo’s algorithm was no longer in Separatist hands, and Admiral Trench had _finally_ met a fate that he couldn’t somehow walk away from: a Jedi lightsaber through the chest.

Tomorrow, the Outer Rim sieges would only continue to be just as difficult, if not _more_ difficult, and Anakin didn’t at like the idea of going into it without even an hour’s rest. That’s what made it so _greatly_ annoying that he couldn’t sleep. 

Maybe he could try to call Padme. But what could she do from over a hologram to help her husband sleep? He could call Obi-Wan, but he surely wasn’t a Padawan anymore and didn’t want to make things weird. While Anakin would never consider it anyways, calling in any of the boys like Rex or Jesse would be even weirder.

“Maybe it’s just the _will of the Force_ that you can’t sleep,” Anakin could imagine one of the clones attempting to come up with an answer to a problem they very well wouldn’t understand.

This definitely _wouldn’t_ do, and Anakin was tired of wasting hours every night trying and failing to get any rest. He hoped that bags hadn’t begun to form under his eyes, and he hoped even more that neither Obi-Wan nor the clones had noticed. 

A buzz came at the door of Anakin’s quarters, and this caused the Jedi Knight to quickly drop to his feet, slip on his boots, and open the door. Anything was better than nothing.

Anakin was met with the face of a familiar clone. He quickly recognized the tattooed Aurebesh reading “A GOOD DROID IS A DEAD ONE” (although it was now more recently covered up by the hair the clone finally decided to leave unshaved) and the red medic symbol on the clone’s shoulder armor. “Kix. I see you’re running a health check on all of the quarters?”

“No, General,” Kix shook his head. “I’m already finished checking the soldiers for injuries. Turns out – thanks to Echo’s plan – that most of the boys came out with nothing more than dusted armor.” The clone rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Actually, I was sent by General Windu to check on you.”

“General Windu?” Anakin repeated, more so to himself. He would have expected this from Obi-Wan, maybe, but not Windu.

“Yes, sir,” Kix nodded. “He wanted to make sure you were in good health. Uh, he said something about being able to _sense_ something in you.” Kix laughed awkwardly. “I’m sure it makes much more sense to you than to me, sir.”

Anakin shrugged but gave Kix a grin. “Well then, you can tell Master Windu that I’m feeling fine.” Anakin held up his hands for good measure. “No injuries, no cuts, no bruises. I just need a bit of rest.”

Kix nodded again and was about to leave before taking another look at his general and stopping himself. “Are you certain you are feeling alright, sir?”

Anakin raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask, Kix?”

“Well, sir, for lack of a better word...” Kix cleared his throat. “You look conflicted. Now, I don’t understand the Force or anything like that, but I’ve been trained to realize when someone has a problem – physical, or not.”

Anakin tipped his chin up slightly, starting to show some interest in this medic clone’s ability. “And?”

“And...well...you aren’t acting completely normal.” Kix slightly winced. “Sorry to put it so bluntly, General.”

“Go on.”

“Well, General, if you wouldn’t mind, I can have you come to the medical station, and I can take a look. It wouldn’t take long.”

“Take a look at _what_?”

Kix blinked. “Your brain, sir.”

Anakin pondered this for a moment. He assumed his inability to sleep completely stemmed from his detailed visions, but perhaps there was more to it that someone detached from the Force like Kix could see. “Alright, Kix, I’ll humor you. Say, have you seen Rex around anywhere?”

“Knowing the captain, sir, I’m sure he’s off checking on Cody.”

* * *

As soon as Anakin and Kix entered the medical room, the clone quickly had the Jedi Knight sit on an observation table. Anakin watched curiously as Kix dug through several drawers and pulled over a large cylindrical machine with a screen attached to the side. 

“So, what kind of brain check up is this, Kix?”

“Just to track brain activity and patterns, sir,” Kix spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He peeled off a flexible tag from a long sheet and brought it over to Anakin. “Here you go, sir. All I need you to do is place this on your head wherever you feel comfortable, and I’ll do the rest.”

Anakin took the tag slowly, gave Kix a confused but not disinterested look, and placed the tag onto his forehead on the right side. 

“Any specific reason why you chose the _right_ side, General?” Kix asked.

“Uh, no, not really?”

Kix nodded. “That’s alright, sir. Sometimes, I can determine a lot about a person’s mental state from the position and time spent considering it. So far, you check off fine.”

Anakin still didn’t quite understand it, but decided to go along with Kix’s little checkup. “You don’t think that I have actual _mental_ problems, do you?” Anakin chuckled, but all Kix could give him back was a halfhearted grin. 

“I would never assume _anything_ of you, sir,” Kix shook his head honestly. “But, as the lead medic for the 501st, it’s important that I’m always taking mental notes. There’s a lot of internal damage that may never be noticed if not checked by the proper professional.”

“Alright, Kix, that’s fine,” Anakin smirked. “What are you picking up on your screen, then?”

Kix let out a long humming sound as he read through the data, waiting for the machine to finish its full sweep. “It’s a bit tricky to tell, sir, and this may or may not be related to the _Force_ or something, but it would seem you’re brain is quite active.”

Anakin raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Usually, yes,” Kix rubbed his chin, looking over the data again. “Have you been having trouble sleeping, General?”

Anakin was surprised. Kix had already gotten to the root of the problem before Anakin gave him any hints. Anakin nodded his head. “Yes, Kix, I’ve been having a hard time getting a good bit of sleep.”

“How recently?”

“Most recent time was just before you came to my quarters.”

“Sorry about that, sir. And, how long have you noticed this issue?” Kix seemed much more interested now. “I’ve seen this issue in plenty of the boys over the years, but it’s never really boiled down to the same exact cause.”

Anakin shrugged. “It’s been a long enough time that I lost track of the weeks, I guess.”

Kix made sure to record this in his notes. “Well, it seems to me that your mind is too active too late, and it’s not letting you sleep. You’ve got too much going around in your head. It’s like a little kid finding it hard to sleep with the idea of his Life Day presents the next day.” Kix cleared his throat and slightly lowered his voice. “Can you think of any prominent thoughts that are keeping you awake?”

Anakin wrinkled his nose a bit. “Just the war, I assume.”

“Ah. You know, that’s what all of the boys said, too. But after getting them to talk some more, a different reason was always revealed.”

“I’m not lying to you, if that’s what you’re implying,” Anakin laughed.

“No, no, I didn’t mean that,” Kix laughed as well. “Obviously, it’s not my place to question you about personal matters, especially when observing a Jedi. But...” Kix thought for a moment. “Perhaps discussing this with another Jedi would help. I believe General Kenobi is still here on Anaxes.”

Anakin didn’t want this to seem odd. “I don’t think speaking to Obi-Wan right now is what I need. I don’t think my problem has much to do with the Force. You’re probably right; my worries are probably what’s keeping me awake.”

“Worries?” Kix couldn’t help but grin. “You’ve just revealed another piece of the puzzle, General.”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Didn’t realize you were a medical clone _and_ an investigator.”

“Just doing my job however I can, General Skywalker,” Kix chuckled. “Again, I won’t pressure you about anything, but I’d recommend taking some time to reflect on whatever has been bothering your mind, and eliminating what you can.” Kix walked over to a shelf to bring over a small capsule. “This is just sleep medicine, but it’ll at least help you get some rest before returning to Coruscant, I’d imagine.”

Anakin took the medicine gratefully. He had to admit, Kix had gotten him to think about some things. Maybe sharing some thoughts with the clone wouldn’t hurt.

“Hey, Kix. Did you ever know Ahsoka?”

The mention of his former commander’s name seemed to trigger something in Kix that hadn’t been grazed in a while, so he turned back to Anakin with wider eyes. “Well, sir, I never knew her on a _personal_ level, obviously, but I served alongside her in countless battles, same as you.” Kix grinned. “I distinctly remember her pulling you behind her into my medical tent on D’Qar.”

Anakin started to slowly smile as well. “You mean on that one mission when I got trampled by-“

“...by the herd of boggdos, yes General,” Kix let out a roar of laughter in the clone trooper fashion. “I remember Commander Tano going on and on about how stubborn you were. You never have been one to back down from a fight, sir. Even if the enemy is just a bunch of animals.”

Anakin smiled sadly. “Yes, she would get after me for being stubborn all the time.”

Kix’s laughter trailed off as he noticed Anakin’s expression. “Are you trying to say that Commander Tano is the reason you can’t sleep?”

“I don’t know, _maybe_ ,” Anakin shrugged helplessly. “I still care about her, y’know? I know she’s safe and well, but it doesn’t help my conscience that she’s out there alone.”

Kix slowly nodded. “Well, I’m sure she’d get after you for _that_ , too.”

Anakin had to admit that Kix was right. “Yeah, she’d say I was _impossible_ and a _worry-wart._ ”

“Well, if I have to be perfectly honest, General,” Kix started, “I miss having her around too. I know the rest of the boys feel the same. I know for a _fact_ that Rex does. But the way I see it, as long as we’re doing our part and bring this war one step closer to ending, we’ll be saving the whole galaxy – Commander Tano included.”

Anakin nodded. 

“You know, sir, I’m sure she didn’t leave because of you.”

“I know that.” But did he really?

“Commander Tano is strong. She’ll manage.”

“I know that.” But was he so certain not to worry about her anyway?

“Then, just remember that and you should start sleeping better,” Kix smiled. “And, you know, I’m sure she’s probably much more worried about you than you are about her.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You’re fighting a war; she’s not.” Kix answered simply. “You miss having her at your side on the frontlines, but I’m sure she worries about that on an even deeper level. Commander Tano isn’t here to make sure you don’t get yourself killed.” Kix said this in a humorous tone, but he still took it seriously. 

Anakin stood to his feet and thanked the clone. “I’m gonna head back to my quarters now to try and get some rest. As soon as you’re work is done, have all of the boys do the same.” Anakin yawned. “I’ve just now decided that we’ll get the Venator ready to go in the morning. For now...I’m gonna try to clear my head.”

Kix watched his general walk off with a grin on his face. 

“A great idea, sir.”


End file.
